Proposal for a Simple Immunity Experiment to Improve the Implementation Rate in Basic Biology in High School Science

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K02742
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 09040:Education on school subjects and primary/secondary education-related
• Research Institution: Kogakkan University
• Principal Investigator: Yutaka Nakamatsu 皇學館大学, 教育学部, 教授 (00456617)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 食作用 / 教材開発 / 昆虫 / 血球 / 高等学校 / 生物基礎 / アワヨトウ / 蛍光インク

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The results of a survey of 64 classes of students in 13 schools over a five-year period showed that as few as 42.9% of the students were able to find phagocytosed hemocytes without the assistance of a university student. The results of the study showed that changing the foreign substance from black grains to fluorescent ink improved the percentage of students' ability to find phagocytosed hemocytes on their own to 88%.
Initially, many students had difficulty in collecting hemocytes from living insects, but with the help of our university students' team teaching, nearly 100% of the students were able to perform the experiment. However, the development of educational materials that provide blood cells instead of the insect itself, which was the original purpose of this observation and experiment, is currently underway using a cell line derived from the blood cells of Mythimna separata larvae.

Free Research Field

理科教育学　応用昆虫学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

高等学校生物基礎の教科書には5社中3社で、主に昆虫の血球を使った食作用の観察実験が採用されている。しかし山野井ら(2013)の報告によると、この実験の実施率は基礎生物のなかでも最下位に位置している。前回検討を重ねた結果「50分でできる昆虫の血球の食作用の観察」（2014）、「蛍光インクを異物として用いた昆虫の血球による食作用の観察」(2021)にまとめ、今回材料の調達方法やアワヨトウの細胞培養株の利用、さらには電子顕微鏡ではなく光学顕微鏡におけるリアルタイムで観察できる現象の観察の視点を得たことで、全国の高等学校でこの実験を採用する割合が増えるものと思われる。